The Case for STEAM Education – Now!
Executive Summary
STEAM (STEM and Arts) education shows real promise to improve the ability of students to
become better problem solvers, understand concepts more fully, inspire innovative thinking,
and work well in diverse teams. STEAM is gaining momentum and is practiced at a small
but growing number of schools across the U.S. What is needed is a comprehensive, unified
approach to implementing STEAM in the classroom with supporting resources, tools, and
training. Innovate Our World is equipped to create a STEAM Integration Model (SIM) to
provide what is needed to move STEAM into more schools, train and certify STEAM
educators, and measure student success. SIM will define the ‘what’, ‘why’, and ‘how’ of
STEAM. The two-year SIM project will engage STEM, Arts Integration, educational
outreach, and corporate partners to validate the model and publicize STEAM. Support of all
kinds is needed for IOW to pursue this groundbreaking work.
Background
The push for increasing and improving STEM education is justified considering how recent
scientific and technical breakthroughs in information and communications technology,
nanotechnology, human genome, neuroscience, 3-D printing, and many other areas are
driving economic vitality in an otherwise stagnant U.S. economy. As these developments
have proven, it takes much more than just STEM proficiency to produce results; creativity,
critical thinking, innovative mindset, and working as a team with other disciplines is needed
to rapidly take new ideas from the lab to success in the marketplace. Colleges and
universities recognize this. They are interdisciplinary by their nature. Cross-disciplinary
degree programs are producing students with diverse skill sets, ready to contribute upon
graduation. Many universities have projects and internships to build these interdisciplinary
connections, such as having scientists working with artists to show their results visually,
business students working with engineers to build the next generation wearable computing,
and so on. But what about students entering college from our high schools? Are they
prepared to prosper in college much less in careers?
Unfortunately, the answer seems to be ‘no’. A recently released ACT National Curriculum
Survey examined college preparedness from secondary educators’ perspective vs. those in
college. Eighty-nine percent of secondary educators felt their students were well or very well
prepared for college work in their content areas whereas only 26 percent of college
educators agreed with that statement. This huge difference shows that there is much more
to be done preparing our students, especially at the upper grade levels, for success in
college and career. So what can be done to improve upon this situation?
Adoption of the Common Core State Standards is ongoing through the U.S. Department of
Education’s Race To The Top (RTTT) program and is intended to improve student
performance and readiness for college and beyond. While full implementation won’t occur
for at least another year, there are already indications that emphasis of new standards and
its associated testing regimen won’t be enough to turn the tide. There is a ground swell of
educators, students, parents, and others that see something is missing from the focus on
content area standards testing. Many emphasize that real life problem solving is not
restricted to one content area; so why should learning be? What can be done to address
this shortcoming?
STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) brings a cross-disciplinary,
integrated focus on learning that engages and inspires students, brings students with
diverse interests together in a team environment, and encourages imaginative, innovative,
and critical thinking towards solving problems, going beyond the rote memorization of facts
and figures. Led by prestigious institutions such as the Rhode Island School of Design
(RISD), STEAM is in the nascent stages of adoption. Several school systems are creating
STEAM schools or STEAM magnet programs while some have been in operation for just a
few years. Most begin by immersing arts into traditional STEM coursework. Using this one
approach, STEAM has already shown promise. Here is one recent example from a recent
Washington Post magazine education issue:
“Patrick Pope, who took over as Savoy principal in 2011, turns to the one available
yardstick: test scores. “The three years before I got here, scores declined every single
year,” he says. This year, after the start of the arts immersion program, ‘they stopped
declining.’”
There are a multitude of STEAM approaches, tools, resources, and methodologies.
Innovate Our World (IOW) recognized this situation from our June 2012 Gathering STEAM
Conference held in Baltimore, MD. With nearly 70 STEM and Arts Integration educators
attending and a dozen presentations, this day-long event showed the diversity of STEAM
efforts and, at the same time, the lack of a central definition and set of practices and tools
for STEAM practitioners. This is similar to what is happening today in the STEM world,
where the definition of ‘what is STEM’ is still hotly debated from state to state and even from
school to school. Using the lessons learned from the STEM wars, for STEAM to succeed
there needs to be a unified and prctical set of approaches, models, tools, and resources for
educators to use, backed up by performance validation. Combined with using new
educational technology and smartly applying approaches such as blended learning and
project-based learning, STEAM can be the next great lever that ratchets up not only student
performance in secondary school and compliments STEM education, but leads to better
and more creative thinkers for eventual placement in the workforce. Harvey White, a
California independent business development, consulting and angel investment firm
professional, perhaps said it best:
“So, how do we address this looming ‘innovation gap’ and is what we are doing with STEM
sufficient? This question and part of the answer leads to STEAM – going a step beyond
STEM by assuring the arts are an integral and necessary part of educating our future
innovators so they can compete successfully in the forthcoming world economy. This is not
an issue about including arts because it is ‘nice’ to do so, but rather it is an imperative
because our economic future is at stake.”
Now is the time for action. In February 2013, RISD and others helped shepherd the creation
of the Congressional STEAM Caucus, comprised of over 30 members and growing.
Government agencies and private industry alike are seeking ways to kickstart innovation.
The NEA has joined the STEAM movement as of summer 2013. Momentum is starting to
build for STEAM. IOW has consulted with several STEAM experts and they have
unanimously agreed that our approach is necessary for STEAM to eventually reach the
tipping point of inclusion in schools. IOW intends to develop this capability to be a one-stop
shop for STEAM across the U.S. and elsewhere. So what is our plan?
Developing and Implementing a STEAM Integration Model (SIM)
Currently, there are only fragmented efforts to bring STEAM to the classroom. What is
needed is a single, validated framework and approach that gives educators options, tools,
resources, training, and support to integrate across content areas no matter their school’s
environment. The STEAM Integration Model will provide those core capabilities and give
educators the flexibility to implement STEAM according to their needs and constraints.
Without a unified approach and robust toolset, the ability of STEAM to impact our students
and economy will be limited. Here’s how it works:
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Define a two-year project to build an integration model to define the ‘what’, ‘why’,
and ‘how’ of STEAM with follow-on pilot and a resource content management
system.
First, build a SIM Education Advisory Committee made up of STEAM, STEM, Arts,
Curriculum, and other Educational experts to provide a framework and peer review
mechanism for SIM Working Group activities. The Education Advisory Committee
met for the first time in June 2013 and will evaluate an initial model framework in
early 2014
As SIM work begins, form a SIM Industry Advisory Committee made up of
companies and organizations with an interest in promoting STEAM. They will provide
expertise, advice, review of SIM materials, and financial support. This Committee
was formed in January 2014.
Form a SIM Executive Council for advisement on critical strategic issues. Each
member will make an annual financial and/or in kind contribution. Begin Committee
activity in 2014.
Once a basic SIM framework is established and committees are established, form a
SIM Working Group to build out the model and identify needed resources, tools and
barriers to implementation (addressing the ‘how’ of STEAM). Start in Winter 2014.
Start validating SIM work to educational (both STEM and Arts/Humanities) and
industry groups via roadshow presentations/meetings in the Mid-Atlantic and
Northeast U.S. during Spring 2014. Use feedback to update SIM.
Build out initial capability, including sample courses, lesson plans, and resources, to
be made available within a content management system for easy use by educators,
students, parents, and the public.
Present and publicize SIM at June, 21 2014 Building STEAM Conference at
Community College of Baltimore County, Catonsville, MD campus. This event will
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attract nearly 200 educators from the Eastern Seaboard to get introduced to STEAM
and SIM and will include training sessions and workshops on how to implement
STEAM.
Post-conference, continue with educator professional development training/support,
develop and implement a STEAM educator certification, and pilot SIM use in
schools. Ongoing, gather data and make adjustments to SIM and associated
training. The SIM Project transitions to STEAM training, certification, research, and
support in 2015. Hold annual STEAM conference in June 2015 to
announce/celebrate project completion and continuing activities.
Value Proposition
Members joining the SIM Industry Advisory Committee can contribute any amount to
participate. Each SIM Executive Council member organization is expected to contribute at
least $10,000 and/or equivalent in-kind services for annual membership. What can member
organizations expect for their contribution? First, organization contributions will go towards
the cost of conducting the SIM Project. This is expected to cost nearly $200,000 over two
years. Significant contributions will come from companies, grants, and sponsorship and
advertising opportunities at roadshows and conferences. This is not organizational support
or discretionary funding. All SIM-directed contributions go to supporting the SIM Project.
How can this contribute to your educational mission? STEAM promises to increase
innovation, instill better critical thinking skills, build teamwork among different roles, and
provide a wider worldview, all highly pertinent to company and societal success. Better
student preparation for college success, especially in STEM fields, leads to better
employees and overall company performance. High-value jobs in the 21st century will be
from the creative class according to Richard Florida and other economic thinkers. STEAM
brings more students into this high-value stream. But can STEAM help all students,
regardless of background?
Yes, STEAM is for all schools, all students, and all backgrounds. IOW plans on
implementing STEAM at schools with different characteristics. IOW’s mission is to impact
students everywhere, but with a focus on socioeconomically challenged schools and closing
the gender gap in areas like STEM. We also recognize how technology can bring learning
to more students and improve the quality of learning. STEAM resources will be online to
provide maximum access no matter where the school or student. SIM development and
implementation incorporates these principles and we will work in tandem with our industry
partners to ensure these are fully integrated within our efforts.
Most business cases rely on quantitative data to make their case. Because STEAM is new,
there isn’t much available data, although ongoing National Science Foundation and U.S.
Department of Education studies may eventually provide such data. The qualitative
business case for STEAM education, however, is strong. The true evidence of STEAM
market penetration and student/educator effectiveness (and therefore success) is reliant not
just on building SIM model and resources, but just as much on implementation and support
strategies. That is the differentiator between IOW and others. Our focus on how to
implement STEAM and on continuous improvement will make the difference between a
good and poor educational investment.
Finally, for supporting SIM, companies will receive the following direct benefits from
Innovate Our World (IOW):
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assign one representative for the SIM Education Advisory Committee
company logo on all SIM-produced publications and materials
company marketing collateral on SIM material to be distributed at STEM and Arts
educator workshops (planned for Mid-Atlantic/Northeast region of U.S.)
company logo on Innovate Our World website
company news featured on IOW monthly newsletter (twice per year)
company news featured on IOW homepage (once per year)
company news featured on IOW Facebook page (up to four times per year)
company news featured on IOW Twitter feed (up to four times per year)
company given five minute keynote opportunity at Building STEAM Conference
company marketing materials for attendees and company logo in program for
Building STEAM Conference
company logo on materials distributed at other IOW events
Your investment will create better and more diversely educated students (your eventual
employees), address socioeconomic and gender gaps in STEM industries, and provide your
organization direct benefits.
What About IOW?
While IOW is a young educational nonprofit (started in 2010), our management team has
years of experience in education, training, technology, continuous improvement, and project
management. In addition to our focus on STEAM through our conferences and related
activities, we have also developed a pilot high school aerospace challenge called the Moon
Mission Challenge (MMC). Once SIM becomes mature, we’ll expand and adapt the MMC to
become a mechanism to instill STEAM into schools. Our team has consulted for the
Maryland State Department of Education on RTTT projects, taught college entry level
humanities/arts classes, provided training for educators and other professionals in several
subject areas, redesigned business processes, used continuous improvement to boost
process quality, and performed technology strategy consulting for other nonprofits. The SIM
Project will be led by a certified PMP with educational project experience.
IOW knows the value of leveraging partnerships to accomplish our objectives. We have
educational content (STEAM, STEM, and Arts/Humanities), educational technology (e.g.,
LMS), and industry (especially STEM) association and council partners to work with us on
our projects and programs. These partnerships provide additional expertise, receptive
audiences, and feedback mechanisms for our work products and services.
Summary
IOW has the vision, mission, and plan to bring STEAM education to our schools, a growing
set of partners to assist us, experience and project management skills to build a sustainable
set of tools and processes, and a singular focus at the right time to make STEAM education
a success, positively impacting your organization and community, society, and economy.